The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

coastal sand-verbena, yellow sand-verbena

red sand-verbena, sticky sand verbena

Habit Plants perennial. Plants perennial.
Stems

prostrate, often buried in sand, usually much branched, forming large mats, succulent, densely glandular-pubescent to glabrous.

prostrate, often buried, often extensively branched, forming large mats, succulent, densely glandular-pubescent.

Leaves

1–6 cm;

blade deltate-ovate to reniform, 2.2–4.8 × 2.7–5.2 cm, margins usually entire, sometimes slightly repand and undulate, surfaces glabrous or viscid-puberulent.

petiole 0.5–3 cm;

blade elliptic to oblong or nearly obovate, 5–6.8 × 2.3–4.3 cm, margins usually entire, sometimes ± repand and undulate, surfaces minutely viscid-puberulent.

Inflorescences

peduncle longer than subtending petiole;

bracts ovate, 5–9 × 3–5 mm, thin, yellowish green, glandular-pubescent;

flowers 17–35.

peduncle longer than subtending petiole;

bracts lanceolate to lance-ovate, 7–11 × 3–4 mm, papery, minutely glandular to glandular-pubescent;

flowers 10–18.

Perianth

tube yellowish green, 6.5–18 mm, limb yellow, 8–13 mm diam., lobes slightly to moderately reflexed.

tube red to reddish green, 6–10 mm, limb deep purplish red, 7–10 mm diam., lobes tightly reflexed.

Fruits

winged, ± rhombic in profile, attenuate at both ends, 8–15 × 6–14 mm, scarious;

wings 4–5, thin walled, small, cavities extending into wing.

turbinate, 10–14 × 6–18 mm, thick, indurate, apex irregularly truncate and ± beaked;

wings 3–5, without cavities.

Abronia latifolia

Abronia maritima

Phenology Flowering spring–summer. Flowering year-round.
Habitat Sandy soils, coastal scrub, lees of dunes adjacent to strand Foredunes and unstable dunes near strand
Elevation 0-50 m (0-200 ft) 0-50 m (0-200 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; OR; WA; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; Mexico (Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sinaloa, Sonora)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

S. S. Tillett (1967) considered plants of Abronia umbellata var. minor (Standley) Munz to be introgressants between A. latifolia and A. umbellata.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 4, p. 68. FNA vol. 4, p. 65.
Parent taxa Nyctaginaceae > Abronia Nyctaginaceae > Abronia
Sibling taxa
A. alpina, A. ameliae, A. ammophila, A. angustifolia, A. argillosa, A. bigelovii, A. bolackii, A. carletonii, A. elliptica, A. fragrans, A. macrocarpa, A. maritima, A. mellifera, A. nana, A. pogonantha, A. turbinata, A. umbellata, A. villosa
A. alpina, A. ameliae, A. ammophila, A. angustifolia, A. argillosa, A. bigelovii, A. bolackii, A. carletonii, A. elliptica, A. fragrans, A. latifolia, A. macrocarpa, A. mellifera, A. nana, A. pogonantha, A. turbinata, A. umbellata, A. villosa
Name authority Eschscholtz: Mém. Acad. Imp. Sci. St. Pétersbourg Hist. Acad. 10: 281. (1826) Nuttall ex S. Watson: in W. H. Brewer et al., Bot. California 2: 4. (1880)
Web links